Neeraj Chopra wins Lausanne Diamond League
Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra recently won the Lausanne Diamond League with a best throw of 89.08m. He became the first Indian to win the Diamond League meeting title. Before Chopra, discus thrower Vikas Gowda is the only Indian to finish in the top three in the Diamond League.
Key Points
- His throw of 89.08m was the third best effort of his career, followed by his second throw of 85.18m. However, his fourth throw was a foul and he again passed his fifth attempt before coming up with 80.04m in the sixth and final round.
- In this event, Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Jakob Wadlejch finished second with his best throw of 85.88m. While Curtis Thompson of the United States finished third with a best throw of 83.72m.
Who is Neeraj Chopra?
He is an Indian track and field athlete competing in javelin throw. He has become the first track and field athlete to win an Olympic gold medal for India and second Olympic athletics to win for India after Norman Pritchard, who won two silver medals at 1900 Summer Olympics for India.
He was inducted as Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in Rajputana Rifles of Indian Army in 2016. He made his debut at 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2018 Asian Games, where he was the opening flag-bearer. In both the games, he won gold medals.
Month: Current Affairs - August, 2022
Category: Awards, Honours & Persons in News • Sports Current Affairs